Research Snapshot: International students in public discourses
Reimagining international students in public discourses: Can media facilitate the inclusion of international students in society?
Publication date: 30 July 2025
This research was carried out by PhD Suvi Jokila and doctoral student Raakel Plamper. The aim of this research project is to explore how international students are represented and portrayed in the media, as well as the forms of agency attributed to them. The study focuses on media outlets because they play a significant role in shaping public perceptions of minority groups, such as international students. As a case study, the research examines Finnish newspaper coverage.
This research demonstrates that the ways international students are represented in media can facilitate their inclusion in society.
Suvi Jokila
PhD Suvi Jokila is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Turku. Her expertise includes international student mobility, issues of inclusion and internationalisation policies.
Raakel Plamper
Key findings of the research:
1. After looking at data in the Finnish media on international students, it is concluded that national interests frame how international students are presented in the media. More specifically in four ways, as: Numbers: the quantities and statistics, and the significance of increasing student numbers in Finland.
- Labour: a solution for demographical challenges and the anticipated need for experts in Finland.
- Economic resources: the significance of tuition revenues for Finnish higher education.
- Social others: their role in social relationships with Finns and their positioning as objects of integration.
2. News pieces varied in their portrayal of international students’ agency. Media discussed international students through lenses of pre-determined, active, and constrained agency.
- Pre-determined agency: students are positioned within the strategic interests of the receiving country, often framed as contributors to the national economy or labour market.
- Active agency: students demonstrate initiative—most notably in their efforts to secure employment in Finland—thereby asserting their agency within the constraints of the system.
- Constrained agency: students encounter structural barriers or adverse conditions that limit their choices and actions. These constraints may arise from immigration policies, labour market dynamics, or social exclusion, leading to precarious or challenging outcomes.
